Japanese souffle pancakes are gaining worldwide attention: this is how they were invented

Recently, Japanese souffle pancakes have been gaining popularity around the world. But in fact, this dish has nothing to do with Japan, and its origins can be traced back to a Hawaiian restaurant and its chef who hates pancakes.

We are talking about a man named Nathan Tran, who is the owner and general manager of Cream Pot, a popular breakfast and brunch spot for Japanese tourists and Hawaiian residents in the Waikiki neighborhood on the south shore of Honolulu. It is in this place that he has been preparing the dish that has brought him worldwide fame since 2008, Fox News reports.

Tran says he's not a big fan of pancakes, so he didn't try to add them to his restaurant's menu. However, during the first six months of operation, it became clear that this dish was in great demand among Japanese customers. Tran remained steadfast and refused to cook pancakes because, as mentioned earlier, he did not like them. Thus, he decided to create something that would look like pancakes but not be them at the same time. It was then that he combined his love of souffles with his customers' thirst for pancakes to create this incredible dish.

Souffle pancakes are made without adding flour. They contain only meringue, a little custard, and cream cheese. First, Tran prepares the custard and meringue separately. Then he adds cream cheese and custard to the latter. The resulting mass is put into a pan and fried on both sides until golden brown to keep its shape. Only then are the pancakes baked in the oven. Each souffle pancake is cooked to about 70%.